How much does a collider cost- and is it worth it ? A cost-benefit analysis of the LHC

par Stefano Forte (INFN Milan)

mardi 29 mars 2016, 11:00 → 12:00 Europe/Paris

Salle 101 (LAL)

I will present the result of a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the LHC, which has been performed as the first test case of a new methodology for the CBA of research infrastructures. After briefly summarizing the goals and limitations of CBA, I will explain how our methodology deals in a quantitative way with the traditional objection that CBA is impossible for fundamental research because its benefits are unpredictable. I will describe and discuss a classification of all measurable benefits, and show how it works in the particular case of the LHC. Our conclusion is that there is more than 90% probability that conservatively estimated benefits of the LHC exceed its costs, not including the unpredictable consequences of scientific discoveries.

Poster Sem_20160329.pdf

Transparents eiburs.pdf